Report

Ghana Micro-nutrient Survey

Improving nutrition of pregnant women and children in Ghana

Saeed enjoys his lunch in Tolon on 14 April 2018. — UNICEF/UN263942/ACQUAH

Highlights

In Ghana, despite two decades of sustained economic growth and reductions in some forms of malnutrition, progress on minimizing malnutrition, including micro-nutrient deficiencies, has been slow. Scarce data indicate that approximately 50% and 66% of non-pregnant and pregnant women and pre-school age children, respectively, suffer from anemia.

Roughly 30% of pre-school children also suffer from iron and vitamin A deficiency. While 19% of children have been found to be stunted and 11% underweight in the 2014 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), over 40% of women were found to be overweight or obese indicating the double burden of malnutrition is present in the Ghanaian population.